Keith R. Smith

The owner of a Cranberry Township auto repair business is again facing accusations of business fraud.

Keith R. Smith, 69, of Cranberry Township, was charged on Friday, Dec. 12, with dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, criminal use of a communication facility, deceptive or fraudulent business practices, theft by deception, receiving stolen property and unauthorized use of automobiles. The charges stem from an incident in which Smith is accused of charging for repair services which he claimed to have completed but did not.

According to an affidavit, a man told Cranberry Township police he first brought his Ford F-150 to Oilology in July after it began shutting off unexpectedly. Smith told the man the issue was with the truck’s fuel pump and that he would have it replaced.

Police said, over the next three months, the man brought his truck to Oilology multiple times, making small payments through CashApp. During this time, the truck continued to randomly stall and Smith told the man he made additional repairs to the truck, including replacing the fuel pump a second time.

Eventually, on Sept. 8, after his truck stalled again, he had it towed to another auto repair shop in Beaver County, according to the affidavit. The shop diagnosed the actual problem and determined Smith did not perform much of the repair work on the truck he said he did.

By then, according to police, the man had made payments to Smith totaling $700.

In addition, footage from traffic cameras allegedly showed the man’s truck was taken out on the road throughout Butler and Allegheny counties on days in late August and early September when it was supposedly still at the repair shop and the man had no access to it.

This marks the fifth time in less than a month Smith has been charged with deceptive business practices. The previous four cases have been held for Butler County Common Pleas Court. Smith has been released on his own recognizance.